Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning has received a bold outlook after his team's latest blowout loss in the College Football Playoff.
The last two years, the Oregon Ducks have looked like championship contenders, only to get obliterated in the College Football Playoff.
In January 2025, Oregon was routed by the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. This past season, the Ducks were hammered by the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl.
Both times, the team that defeated Oregon went on to win the national title, so it's not like the Ducks suffered any shocking losses. But is it possible that head coach Dan Lanning simply cannot get over the hump?
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic was asked that very question in a recent mailbag, but he seems to believe that Lanning will be just fine.
"I get that Lanning’s teams have suffered blowout CFP losses the last two years, but I don’t consider that a knock on his coaching ability," Mandel wrote. "His teams have been wildly successful. They’ve only lost five games in the last three years, and all five were to teams that won or reached the national championship game (2023 Washington twice, 2024 Ohio State once, 2025 Indiana twice)."
Mandel noted that Oregon actually beat Ohio State during the 2024 regular season, and given that the Ducks have gone 48-8 since Lanning took over in 2022, it's hard to criticize him all that much just yet.
Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning. Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images."History has shown that if a coach can win at a high level, year-in and year-out, he’s probably going to break through at some point. See: Tom Osborne. Or Bobby Bowden. Or Mack Brown. Or more recently, Jim Harbaugh, Kirby Smart and Ryan Day," Mandel added. "Lanning’s day is coming."
Could that day come next season?
Oregon is viewed as one of the top teams in the country heading into next fall. The Ducks have a bunch of returning players, including quarterback Dante Moore, who probably could have been the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft had he entered.
Of course, Oregon will have plenty to contend with. Ohio State, for example, looks downright terrifying with Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith back for another year.
All things considered, Lanning is still in the very early stages of his career, and he has done a tremendous job of taking what was an already good Ducks program to the next level.
Mandel is surely right: eventually, Lanning will cash in.
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